Gone with the Wind Character Analysis

Scarlett O’Hara

Scarlett O’Hara is the protagonist of Gone with the Wind. She is not beautiful, but she is very charming, with dark hair, strong eyebrows, pale skin, and green eyes. She is the oldest daughter… read analysis of Scarlett O’Hara

Rhett Butler

Rhett Butler is the mysterious stranger who captures Scarlett’s attention at the Wilkes’ barbecue; he later becomes her third husband. He is swarthy and handsome, with a powerful figure, pirate-like features, and a mocking smile… read analysis of Rhett Butler

Melanie Wilkes (Hamilton)

Melanie Hamilton is Ashley Wilkes’s cousin and wife, and Charles Hamilton’s sister. She has a small, childlike figure with large eyes “like candles.” Her delicate health is severely weakened after she has her… read analysis of Melanie Wilkes (Hamilton)

Ashley Wilkes

Ashley Wilkes is the object of Scarlett O’Hara’s love throughout the story. He has blonde hair and a dreamy, remote expression in his eyes. He is the son of John Wilkes of Twelve Oaks… read analysis of Ashley Wilkes

Mammy

Mammy is initially enslaved by the O’Haras; after the Civil War, she continues to work for them. She is large and old, with small shrewd eyes, and came with Ellen to Tara from Charleston. She… read analysis of Mammy

Gerald O’Hara

Gerald O’Hara is Scarlett’s father and the master of Tara. He is a short, stocky man with a loud voice and a raucous lifestyle. Although he had a rough exterior—he’s always gambling, drinking… read analysis of Gerald O’Hara

Ellen O’Hara

Ellen O’Hara, originally Ellen Robillard, is Scarlett’s mother and Gerald’s wife. Before marrying Gerald, Ellen lived in Charleston and was in love with her cousin, Phillippe Robillard. When Phillippe died in a… read analysis of Ellen O’Hara

Suellen O’Hara

Suellen is the second oldest O’Hara sister; like Scarlett, she’s selfish and only interested in money. After the war, Suellen resists Scarlett’s efforts to make her pick cotton in the fields at Tara… read analysis of Suellen O’Hara

Carreen O’Hara

Carreen is Scarlett’s youngest sister. She is sweet-tempered, timid, and religious. While Scarlett is in Atlanta, Carreen gets engaged to Brent Tarleton who is later killed in the war. Carreen never forgets him… read analysis of Carreen O’Hara

Charles Hamilton

Charles Hamilton is Scarlett’s first husband and Melanie Hamilton’s brother. He is shy with curly hair and blushing cheeks. Scarlett thinks that he looks like a calf. Before the Wilkes’s barbecue, Charles is… read analysis of Charles Hamilton

Frank Kennedy

Frank Kennedy is one of the County bachelors, though he’s older than most. When the story begins, he is Suellen’s beau. After a long courtship, he finally proposes to Suellen during the war. Before… read analysis of Frank Kennedy

Wade Hampton Hamilton

Wade Hampton Hamilton is Scarlett and Charles Hamilton’s son. When he’s young, Scarlett resents him for taking away her youth, and is annoyed by his presence. He was traumatized the night they fled Atlanta… read analysis of Wade Hampton Hamilton

Bonnie Blue Butler

Bonnie Blue Butler is Rhett and Scarlett’s daughter. She was originally named Eugene Victoria, but Rhett christens her Bonnie when Melanie says her eyes are as blue as the Bonnie Blue Flag. She is… read analysis of Bonnie Blue Butler

Belle Watling

Belle Watlingis a sex workerwho owns a brothel in Atlanta. She has bright red hair and wears colorful clothes. She has a long-standing relationship with Rhett Butler, who pays for her new brothel… read analysis of Belle Watling

Pork

Pork is Gerald O’Hara’s enslaved valet. He is married to Dilcey and Prissy is their daughter. Throughout the novel, he demonstrates fierce loyalty to the O’Hara family. When there is no food at Tara… read analysis of Pork

Prissy

Prissy is Dilcey and Pork’s daughter; she’s about 10 years old when the novel starts. She becomes Wade Hamilton’s nursemaid when Scarlett goes to Atlanta after Charles dies. Scarlett thinks that Prissy is a… read analysis of Prissy

Dilcey

Dilcey is Pork’s wife and Prissy’s mother. Early on, Gerald buys Dilcey and Prissy from the Wilkes so that the family can be together. Dilcey is diligent and faithful, staying on at Tara… read analysis of Dilcey

Miss Pittypat Hamilton

Miss Pittypat Hamilton is the elderly single aunt who raised Melanie and Charles Hamilton. She owns a brick house on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. She is prone to fainting spells which she often… read analysis of Miss Pittypat Hamilton

Uncle Henry Hamilton

Uncle Henry Hamilton is Miss Pittypat’s brother. Although he lives around the corner from her in Atlanta, the two had a falling out over money and how Pitty was raising Charles, so they… read analysis of Uncle Henry Hamilton

India Wilkes

India Wilkes is Ashley Wilkes’s sister. She is “pale and rabbit-like,” traits that Scarlett considers weak—she believes they came from the Wilkes’ history of marrying their cousins. India holds a grudge against Scarlett for… read analysis of India Wilkes

Stuart Tarleton

Stuart Tarleton and his twin Brent are two of Scarlett’s potential beaus at the beginning of the novel. They live with their mother, Beatrice Tarleton. The twins are the epitome of Southern masculinity; they… read analysis of Stuart Tarleton

Brent Tarleton

Brent Tarleton is Stuart Tarleton’s twin; they’re two of Scarlett’s potential beaus at the beginning of the novel. They live with their mother, Beatrice Tarleton. The twins are the epitome of Southern masculinity; they… read analysis of Brent Tarleton

Beatrice Tarleton

Beatrice Tarleton is the headstrong, red-haired mother of Brent Tarleton, Stuart Tarleton, and Hetty, Camilla, Randa, and Betsy Tarleton. She runs a huge plantation and is admired by all, especially… read analysis of Beatrice Tarleton

Jonas Wilkerson

Jonas Wilkerson is the O’Haras’ former overseer and head of the Freedman’s Bureau. Ellen O’Hara dismisses Jonas after he impregnated Emmie Slattery, and most wealthy Southerners in Ellen’s circle look down on Jonas for… read analysis of Jonas Wilkerson

Emmie Slattery

Emmie Slattery is the daughter of the Slatterys, a poor white family that live nearby to the O’Haras’. The Slatterys are disliked by everyone in the County because they are thought of as being lazy… read analysis of Emmie Slattery

Uncle Peter—

Uncle Peter is Miss Pittypat’s personal enslaved man; he continues to work for her after the Civil War ends. He raised Melanie and Charles like they were his own children and takes care of… read analysis of Uncle Peter—

Dr. Meade

Dr. Meade is the most prominent doctor in Atlanta.He runs one of the war hospitals, and he tends tirelessly to the countless wounded soldiers that stream into Atlanta. During the war, he often goes… read analysis of Dr. Meade

Mrs. Meade

Mrs. Meade is Dr. Meade’s wife. Her first son Darcy is killed early in the war, and she is very protective of her younger son, Phil Meade, who is eager to go off to… read analysis of Mrs. Meade

Phil Meade

Phil Meade is Dr. Meade and Mrs. Meade’s youngest son. While he is too young to join the war, he looks forward excitedly to the day when he’ll be old enough to join. Mrs… read analysis of Phil Meade

Mrs. Merriwether

Mrs. Merriwether is one of Atlanta’s prominent gossipy ladies, along with Mrs. Elsing and Mrs. Whiting. She runs one of the war hospital committees at which Scarlett volunteers. Mrs. Merriwether disapproves of Scarlett… read analysis of Mrs. Merriwether

Mrs. Elsing—

Mrs. Elsing isAtlanta’s secondprominent lady and the wife of Hugh Elsing. Like Mrs. Merriwether, Mrs. Elsing disapproves of Scarlett’s association with the “traitor” Rhett Butler. After the war, Mr. and… read analysis of Mrs. Elsing—

Cathleen Calvert

Cathleen Calvert is a pretty County girl whom Scarlett gossips with about Rhett Butler at the Wilkes’s barbecue. After the war Cathleen’s mother, Mrs. Calvert, moves back north, and Cathleen has no other choice… read analysis of Cathleen Calvert

Hilton

Hilton is the Calverts’ Yankee overseer. He behaves like an equal with the Calverts after his Yankee accent helps save their house from being burned by the Yankees during the war. Along with Tara’s… read analysis of Hilton

Archie

Archie is a veteran and ex-convict who lives for a while at Melanie’s house in Atlanta. He has a long, grizzled beard, a mountain accent, and a wooden leg. He killed his wife… read analysis of Archie

Big Sam

Big Sam is one of Tara’s enslaved field hands. During the war, Scarlett sees him in Atlanta on a crew of enslaved men digging trenches in case the war makes its way to Atlanta… read analysis of Big Sam

Will Benteen

Will Benteen is an uneducated Confederate soldier with a peg leg who recuperates at Tara after the war. After he recovers, he stays at Tara to help out and repay Scarlett for her hospitality. Will… read analysis of Will Benteen

Johnnie Gallegher

Scarlett hires Johnnie Gallegher to manage her second mill in Atlanta and oversee the convict gang that she employs. Scarlett soon discovers that Johnnie starves and whips the convicts, and everyone says he’s a cruel… read analysis of Johnnie Gallegher

Mrs. Calvert

Mrs. Calvert is the Yankee mother of Cathleen Calvert and Cade and Raiford Calvert who has never really fit in in the South. When the Yankees move through the South burning plantations after the war… read analysis of Mrs. Calvert

Sally Munroe

Sally Munroe is the widow of one of the Fontaine brothers. After the war, one of the Fontaine’s former enslaved men propositions her, causing Tony Fontaine to kill him and Jonas Wilkerson, head of… read analysis of Sally Munroe

Tony Fontaine

Tony Fontaine is one of the sole caretakers of the Fontaine plantation after the war. After a former enslaved man approaches his brother’s widow Sally, Tony kills Jonas Wilkerson because he’d been leading the… read analysis of Tony Fontaine

Grandma Fontaine—

Grandma Fontaine is Tony and Alex Fontaine’s crotchety, opinionated grandmother. She often intimidates Scarlett, but when Scarlett borrows food from the Fontaines after the war, Grandma Fontaine guesses that Scarlett has experienced more… read analysis of Grandma Fontaine—

John Wilkes

John Wilkes is Ashley Wilkes’s father and the master of the plantation Twelve Oaks. He joins the war when the Home Guard is dispatched from Atlanta, riding Mrs. Tarleton’s finest mare. Later… read analysis of John Wilkes

Honey Wilkes

Honey Wilkes is Ashley and India Wilkes’s unattractive sister, who is desperate for male attention. She is unofficially engaged to her cousin Charles Hamilton before Scarlett marries him. At the Wilkes’ barbecue, Honey accuses… read analysis of Honey Wilkes

Tommy Wellburn

Tommy Wellburn marries Mrs. Elsing’s daughter after her fiancé is killed during the war. He sustained a leg injury that gives him a limp, but he is hardworking and honest. A member of the… read analysis of Tommy Wellburn

Governor Bullock

Governor Bullock is elected governor after the South loses the war—the first Republican in the history of Georgia’s government. He tells the North that Southerners are in a state of rebellion, and so he controls… read analysis of Governor Bullock

Pauline Robillard

Pauline is Ellen O’Hara’s sister. Scarlett finds her boring and overly scrupulous when she visits and learns that she and her other sister, Eulalie, disapprove of Ellen and Gerald’s marriage. After Scarlett starts… read analysis of Pauline Robillard

Eulalie Robillard

Eulalie is Ellen O’Hara’s sister. Scarlett finds her boring and overly scrupulous when she visits them in Charleston and learns that she and her other sister, Pauline, disapprove of Ellen and Gerald’s marriage… read analysis of Eulalie Robillard

Minor Characters

Ella Lorena

Ella Lorena is Scarlett O’Hara and Frank Kennedy’s daughter; she’s Scarlett’s second child. She is ugly and looks like Frank. When she is older, she annoys Scarlett with her short attention span.

Beau Wilkes

Beau is Melanie and Ashley’s only son. Scarlett helps Melanie deliver him during the siege of Atlanta.

Mrs. Whiting

Mrs. Whiting is Atlanta’s third prominent lady. Her family’s house is burned during the war, and so they live as paying boarders at the Elsings’ boarding house.

Alex Fontaine—

Alex Fontaine is Tony Fontaine’s brother. He manages the Fontaine plantation by himself when Tony flees for Texas after killing Jonas Wilkerson.

Hetty Tarleton

Hetty is one of Beatrice Tarleton’s red-headed daughters. At the Wilkes’ barbecue, she, Camilla, Randa, and Betsy gossip disapprovingly along with the other County girls that Scarlett is stealing all the boys and that she’s in love with Ashley.

Camilla Tarleton

Camilla is one of Beatrice Tarleton’s red-headed daughters. At the Wilkes’ barbecue, she, Hetty, Randa, and Betsy gossip disapprovingly along with the other County girls that Scarlett is stealing all the boys and that she’s in love with Ashley.

Randa Tarleton

Randa is one of Beatrice Tarleton’s red-headed daughters. At the Wilkes’ barbecue, she, Camilla, Hetty, and Betsy gossip disapprovingly along with the other County girls that Scarlett is stealing all the boys and that she’s in love with Ashley.

Betsy Tarleton

Betsy is one of Beatrice Tarleton’s red-headed daughters. At the Wilkes’ barbecue, she, Camilla, Randa, and Hetty gossip disapprovingly along with the other County girls that Scarlett is stealing all the boys and that she’s in love with Ashley.

Hugh Elsing

Hugh Elsingis Mrs. Elsing’s husband. Scarlett hires him to work on her second mill, but then replaces him with Johnnie Gallegher because he has no “gumption” or business sense.

Rene Picard

Rene Picard is a French officer who marries Mrs. Merriwether’s daughter and makes money driving a pie wagon for Mrs. Merriwether after the war.

Old Man McRae

Mr. McRae is a citizen of the County. During the Wilkes’s barbecue, he joins in on the talk of the war, saying that he’s seen war firsthand and that the young Southern men shouldn’t glorify it.

Jeems

Jeems is Brent and Stuart Tarleton’s once playmate and now personal enslaved man. In the beginning of the novel, he rides home with them after Scarlett didn’t invite them to supper and complains that they decide to eat at Able Wynder’s—the Confederate Lieutenant—because he is “po’ w’ite trash.”

James O’Hara

James is Andrew and Gerald O’Hara’s brother. He and Andrew immigrated from Ireland before Gerald, and they made their living running a store in Charleston.

Andrew O’Hara

Andrew is James and Gerald O’Hara’s brother. He and James immigrated from Ireland before Gerald, and they made their living running a store in Charleston.

Phillippe Robillard

Phillippe is Ellen O’Hara’s cousin and the man she’d hoped to marry. Her family disapproved of the match and sent Phillippe away. He died in a bar fight, but Ellen never forgets him, calling his name twice while on her deathbed.

Gone with the Wind Characters